Sifter-top-closing device



July 10, 1928.

N. LQESEL SIFTER TOP' CLOSING DEVICE Filed May 28, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INV TOR WM ATTORNEYS I fams LOESEL SIFTER TOP CLOSING DEVICE Filed May1925 2 sh9ets s et 2 wea 25 g l a Z ATTORNEYS Patented July 1%, i925.

uNrrEn stares PATENT @FFEQE.

NICHOLAS LOESEL, OF RICHMOND HILL, NEW YORK, ASSIG-NOR T0 AMERCIAN CANCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SIFTER-TOP-QLOSING DEVICE.

App1ication filed May 28, 1925.

My invention relates to automatic feeding mechanism for box tops or thelike and has particular application to the feeding of talcum powder boxtops in which a cap is r0- tatably positioned upon a neck projectingfrom the breast of the top.

An important object of the invention is the provision, in associationwith the feeding mechanism, of means for closing sifter openings, suchas those provided in the top and rotatable cap of talcum powder cans.Heretofore, talcum powder can tops have been shipped from the canfactory without ascertaining whether or not all of the caps have beenturned to close the sifter openings and the result has been that themanufacturer of the powder has had to test each one of said tops to seewhether or not they were closed, and, if they were not, to close them.This has entailed an additional operation which, in the handling ofthousands of cans by hand, has proved to be tedious and expensive. Asindicated above, the present invention contemplates the provision ofautomatic means for performing this operation at the can factory inconnection with another necessary operation, namely the feedingoperation involved in the automatic manufacturing and handling of saidtops and thereby eliminates the additional labor and expense heretoforerequired of the manufacturer who uses the cans.

Another object of the invention is the provision, in mechanism of thischaracter, of means for preventing damage to the tops in the event thatthey are not properly positioned with respect to the operation of thefeeding devices, thereby rendering it unnecessary to operate saiddevices in timed relationship.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a. preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 1

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus in which my invention isembodied; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, partially broken away forconvenience in illustration; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l, withthe parts in different position; and

' Fig. 4 is a view partially in section and,

partially in elevation of a part of the appa- Serial No. 33,581.

ratus looking toward the right in Figs. 1 and 3 and showing the meansfor operating the transverse feeding mechanism and cap closlng device.

On said drawings, illustrating the best manner in which 1 have thus farcontemplated applying the principles of my invention, the referencecharacter 11 indicates a conveyor belt, adapted to carry can tops 12,received from a die press or other apparatus, said belt being directedover suitable rollers, one of which is shown in the drawings andindicated by the reference charactor 13. Said roller is carried upon ashaft 14, jonrnaled in bearings 14L provided in the upper ends of lugs15 arising from a base member 16,11clcl'1n place by means of bolts 17 orin any preferred manner. Obviously, the roller at the opposite end ofthe conveyor may be supported in the same or any preferred manner andmay be driven by wellknown means from any available source of power.Arranged transversely of said conveyor 11, a short distance from therighthand end thereof, viewing Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, is atransverse feeding mechanism adapted to remove the tops from saidconveyor and direct them into a passageway 18 for delivery to a suitablereceptacle for-the finished tops. Said passageway 18 is provided withside walls 19 and 20 and a wall 1, of a transverse guideway 22, isarranged in line with said wall 20 and is adapted to stop the tops whenthey are advanced by said belt conveyor to position from which they maybe moved directly into said passageway 18. It should be understood thata chain can be substituted for the belt 11 and. the same resultsaccomplished.

Said transverse feeding mechanism comprises a block 23 carried upon aslide 24:,

which is formed with a depending lug 25,

to which a bar 26 is pivotally' secured at 27, the opposite end of saidbar being pivoted at 28 to one arm 29 of a bell-crank 31, pivoted at 32to the floor, or other fixed support 33. Said slide 24 is supported in aframe 34, fixed in place by bolts 35, said frame also supporting thepassageway 18 and a bed part 36 over which the conveyor 11 travels, saidbed part being provided with side walls 37 and 38 between which the tops12 are confined.

The other arm 39 of the bell-crank 31 is pivotally connected at 41 witha vertically disposed pitman 42, the upper end of which is'bifurcated,as indicated at 43, and secured at 44 to a slide 45 disposed in aguideway formed in a frame part 46, the upper end of said slide carryinga. roller 47' adapted to follow a cam 48 secured to a shaft 49 forming apart of the operating mechanism of the apparatus. Said roller 47 is heldin contact with the cam by means of a' spring 51, secured at its upperend to the bifurcated end 43 of the pitman 42 and at its opposite end tothe side wall 19 of the passageway 18. Said spring also provides ayielding driving connection for the feed block 23, so that in the eventa top 12 is not properly ]')o:'- itioned when said block advances, thelat er may yield and thus avoid damage to said top, which will beadvanced by the conveyor l. l. to proper position when said block nextretracted.

The forward end. of said block is provided with a flange 52 adapted tobe disposed above the top 12 during the advancing movement. A beveledhook 53 is provided at the entrance of the passageway 18 to preventretracting movement of the tops after they have been advanced into saidpassageway, said hook being normally held in inward position by means ofa coil spring 54, mounted upon a pin arising from a boss 56 projectingfrom the wall 19. one end 57 of said spring being in contact with theouter side of said wall it) and the other end 58 thereof with the sideof the shank of the hook 53, which is also pivoted on said pin 55.

A closing n'ien'iber 59 is pivoted at 61 to the top of the feed block22-3, near the forward. end and slightiy to one side of the longitudinalcenter thereof. A laterally extending arm (32 of said closing member ispivoted at (33 to a friction drag block 64 disposwl in the guideway 22,the outer wall of which is formed by a side bar (35 secured in place bymeans of screws 66. A forwardly 0.. end ng linger (37 on said member 59is adapted to be moved toward the right, viewing Figs. 1 and 3, byreason of the friction upon the drag block (34 when the feed block 93 isadvanced. This disposes said linger at one side of a scalloped sittercap (iSfrotatably positioned upon the neck of the tops 12. This positionof said closing member is rhown in 1. After said feed block 23 hasreached the end of its forward stroke and the box top is positioned inthe passs-igeway 18, in which it is held by the hook 523, said feedblock is re racted and the friction. upon the drag block 64 thereupontends to move the closing linger (i7 inwardly into contact with the cap68, as shown in Fig. I}. As hereinahove stated, said cap may be, andoften arranged with the sifter open'ii'igs unelosed and said finger 67serves to rotate said cap upon the backward stroke of said feed block,in manner which will be obvious from inspection of Fig. 3. The forwardend of said finger engages within one of the scallops of the cap and. ifthe latter is not in closed position, it will be positively turned bysaid finger, thereby insurin that the sifter openings in all of the topswill be closed. In the event that said cap should be already closed, itwill be understood that said iinger slides off the cap, since there isless friction in this action than the friction upon the slide block 64.In order to limit the backward movement of said feed block 23 and toinsure the proper withdrawal of the finger 67, I provide a stop pin 69,adapted to be engaged by a third extension or arm 71 on said member 59,said member being thereby arranged in the position shown in Fig. 1 andthe device being thenready for the next forward stroke. Inasmuch as theclosing operation just described is performed as an incident to thealready necessary feeding operation, the additional expense isrelatively small and. the manufactnrer may be sure that the tops whichhe ships to his custon'iers all have their sifter caps closed and areready for positioning upon a tilled container without requiring from thecustomer the labor andexpense heretofore necessary in testing each top.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in. the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim: 7

1. In combination, feeding mechanism for box parts, said box partsincluding a rotata-bly positioned cap having sitter openings therein,and means automatically operable during the operation of said feedingmechanism for turning said caps upon the box parts to close said sifteropenings, said means comprising a closing member bearing against theside of said cap, and devices for reciprocating said closing member.

2. In coi'nbination, a conveyor for box parts, a reciprocating memberoperating transversely of said conveyor to remove said box partstherefrom, and means associated with said reciprocating member forautomatically moving cover members on said box arts to close sifteropenings formed therein.

3. In combination, a fecdingdevice for box parts, and a closing memberreciprocated by movement of said feeding device for closing covermembers on. said box parts.

4. In combination, a feeding device for box parts, a closing memberreciprocated by movement of said feeding device for clos- Hit) lll)

ing cover members on said box parts, and means providing a yieldingdriving connection for said feeding device.

5. In combination, a conveyor for box parts, a feeding device operatingtransversely of said conveyor for removing the box parts therefrom, andmeans associated with said feeding device for closing cover members onsaid box parts.

6. In combination, a conveyor for box parts, a feeding device operatingtransversely of said conveyor for removing the box parts therefrom,means associated with said feeding device for closing cover members onsaid box parts, a support for receiving the box parts as they areremoved from said conveyor, and means for preventing return movement ofsaid box parts during operation of said closing means.

7. In combination, a conveyor for box parts, a feeding device operatingtransversely of said conveyor for removing the box parts therefrom,means associated with said feeding device for closing cover members onsaid box parts, a support for receiving the box parts as they areremoved from saie conveyor, means for preventing return movement of saidbox parts during operation of said closing means, and means forrestoring said closing device to initial position.

8. In combination, a conveyor for box parts, a feeding device operatingtransversely of said conveyor for removing the box parts therefrom, andmeans associated with said feeding device for closing cover member-s onsaid box parts, said feeding device including a sliding feed block andsaid closing means comprising a member pivoted to said block and havinga finger engageable With the cover member for closing the same and afriction guideway and drag block for operating said member.

9. In combination, a conveyor for box parts, a feeding device operatingtransversely of said conveyor for removing the box parts therefrom, andmeans associated with said feeding device for closing cover members onsaid box parts, said feeding device comprising a reciprocating mechanismand said closing means comprising an element pivot-ally associated withsaid mechanism and having a part movable into engagement with said covermember for closing the same and a friction drag member for operatingsaid element.

10. The combination of a cap-turning member, feeding means for carryinga canpart and a closure rotatable thereon near to said cap-turningmember whereby the latter turns the cap on said can-part, and apassage-Way along which the can parts are caused to progress, saidpassage-Way having means for holding the can-part from turning duringthe operation of said cap-turning member.

11. In combination, feeding mechanism for actuating container part-s,said container parts including a rotatably positioned cap having sifteropenings therein, and mechanism movable sidewise relative to the axis ofthe container part and cap for turning said caps upon the containerparts to close said sifter openings.

12. In combination, reciprocating feeding iechanism for'container parts,said container parts including a rotatable closure member, and meansrelative to which the said parts are carried by said feeding mechanism,for engaging and turning said closure member upon movement in onedirection of said reciprocating feed.

13. In combination, reciprocating feeding mechanism for container parts,said container parts including a rotatable closure member, means forengaging and turning said closure member upon movement in one directionof said reciprocating feed, and means for preventing return movement ofsaid container parts during operation of said closing means.

14. In combination, reciprocating feed ing mechanism for containerparts, said container parts including a rotatable closure member, meansfor engaging and turning said closure member upon movement in onedirection of said reciprocating feed, and means for holding saidcontainer parts during operation of said closing means.

15. In combination, reciprocating feeding mechanism for container parts,means for engaging and turning cover members on said container partsupon movement in one direction of said reciprocating feed.

16. In combination, reciprocating feeding mechanism for container parts,means for engaging and turning cover members on said container partsupon movement in one direction of said reciprocating feed, and meansproviding a yielding driving connection for said feeding mechanism.

17; In combination, reciprocating feeding mechanism for container parts,means for engaging and turning cover members on said container partsupon the return stroke of said reciprocating feed.

18. In combination a feeding mechanism for container parts, saidcontainer parts including a rotatable closure member, a finger forfrictionally engaging said closure member on one of its sides andturning it, and means whereby the container parts and finger are causedto have relative sidewise movement for the turning of the closuremember.

NICHOLAS LOESEL.

